| R. Balakrishna Pillai | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 8, 1935 |
| Political party | Kerala Congress (B) |
| Spouse(s) | Valsala |
| Children | Usha, Bindu, K. B. Ganesh Kumar |
R. Balakrishna Pillai (born 8 March 1935) is an Indian politician, a former Minister of the state of Kerala in India, who has held portfolios like Transport, Electricity. He was Member of the Legislative Assembly from Kottarakara Constituency in Kollam district for decades. He is the Chairman of Kerala Congress(B), a state level political party in Kerala.[1]
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He was elected to Kerala Legislative Assembly for the first time in 1960 from the Pathanapuram Assembly Constituency of Kollam district, as a candidate of the Indian National Congress, at the age of 25 and holds the record for becoming the youngest MLA. In 1964, fifteen MLAs led by K M George and Balakrishna Pillai left the Congress and formed a regional Party called the Kerala Congress. Pillai won the elections from his home constituency Kottarakara in 1965 but was defeated in the next two elections of 1967 and 1970. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1971 General Election from Mavelikara Constituency defeating S. Ramachandran Pillai of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) and served as the Member of Parliament (MP) till 1977. He returned to State Politics in 1977 and represented Kottarakara after winning the General Elections in 1977, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1991, 1996, and 2001, but was defeated in the 2006 election. His victory margin of 37000 votes in 1980 remained a record for the State Assembly polls for more than a quarter century. He is one of the Founder Members of United Democratic Front (UDF). He was minister for several years starting from 1975 in different Ministries headed by C. Achutha Menon, K. Karunakaran, E. K. Nayanar, and A. K. Antony.
The Supreme Court on 10 February 2011 sentenced R. Balakrishna Pillai and two others to one-year imprisonment for abusing their position in the award of contract for the Edamalayar hydroelectric power project.[2]
They were sentenced under the Prevention of Corruption Act. An apex court bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan reversed the Kerala High Court judgment which acquitted all the three. Since the then Congress government in Kerala did not challenge the high court order, Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan, who was then leader of the opposition, had moved the Supreme Court, challenging the verdict of acquittal. The apex court allowed Achuthanandan's appeal and also imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000 on each of the three convicts. He was sent to Poojapura Central prison, Thiruvananthapuram.[3]
Gandeevam, a biography of R. Balakrishna Pillai written by Vrindavanam Venugopalan with a foreword by Dr. Sooranad Kunjan Pillai, was published by Viswakeralam Daily.